HTTYD One Shots

Equestrian AU

Saw a fan art for this on instagram and got an idea!

A sleek black horse arched over the jump, the green shirted rider sat quietly. He steered the horse with his hands, a perfect bond between horse and rider. The horse came round for a huge oxer, something that he had refused many times, sending his rider flying.

"C'mon boy, we can do this!" The boy sad and tapped the horse with his heels.With an extra stride the black shape leapt up and over the jump. The rider whooped and there was the sound of clapping from the rails of the jump ring. The rider walked his horse over to the rails where the person was clapping.

"See Hiccup? I knew you could do it!" The girl laughs patting the black horse.

"Your my lucky charm Astrid, I have gone flying every time, thank you," Hiccup said leaning down off the horse and placing a kiss on Astrid's forehead. Next to Astrid was an elegant blue roan mare, the mare snorted and stretched her nose to the black horse.

"Night would never do such a thing!" Astrid laughed again before slipping him a polo mint which he hoovered up. Hiccup jumped off and landed sending dust up as his boots hit the sawdust.

"You going to try on Stormfly?" He asked rubbing the thoroughbred cross draft horses nose.

"Only if you try her round it first!" Astrid bargained, her cheeks reddening, Hiccup frowned knowing the usual sign. Astrid used to be a dressage rider as she had a bad fall when she was younger. Since she had met Hiccup she had regained confidence and had started jumping again but unlike Hiccup who showed no fear she was still quite nervous.

"Why don't I lower the jumps? A meter twenty is huge Astrid, what about ninety centimetres?" He bargained back, Astrid nodded shyly and held Toothless as Hiccup lowered the jumps.

It took a few minutes but the jumps were lowered and Astrid was mounted in Stormfly who was chomping on her bit.

"Relax, you'll be fine," Hiccup called as they started off on a canter. There collected herself and popped the jumps with ease, Astrid was tense but as the duo went on she relaxed and eased up. A bystander wouldn't spot it but it was obvious that when Astrid relaxed she became a better rider. A smile creased onto Hiccup's face as he watched his girlfriend manoeuvre around the course, she didn't do the last oxer but neither mention it. 

"Let's go for a walk," Hiccup suggested and Astrid nodded kicking her feet out of the stirrups and letting her feet hang. The pair walked slowly pst the stable yard and up a lane way, chattering away about anything that came to mind. The sun was beginning to set low as they turned back and entered the stable block in the glare of the flood lights.

The usual gang were around, Astrid's best friend Heather, a daring trick rider chatting to a stocky boy called Fin, or as the riders called him Fishlegs,  who rides a huge bay Clydesdale. In the cross ties were to lanky people with angular faces grooming their horses, they were the twins,  Ruff and Tuff, or Rebecca and Tony. Finally, standing next to a bright chestnut was Hiccup's cousin Snoutlout, a cocky young cross country rider, or Seth as everyone else knew him by.

"Cover your eyes the love birds are back!" Snotlout yelled, the twins chuckled at the joke.

"Snot, what have I told you about yelling in the stables," Hiccup sighs, Snotlout had been on strike by Hiccup's father, and Hiccup was on warning for not keeping Snotlout in check. As Hiccup and Astrid put their horses away and shared a kiss in the tack room. Then Hiccup disappeared and reappeared with a sheet of paper, he stood his frame on a grooming box.

"In my hands, is a sign up sheet," he started saying at the assembled riders he saw in front of him, "Sumblime Equine is running a cards contest."

"I'm out I'm not sitting on the floor playing cards with ten year olds," Snotlout declares walking away. Hiccup groans and pretends to slam his head into a wall.

"It's not playing cards Snotlout, each team is given a set of cards with categories on them, each year they change," Hiccup explains tiredly, "if we enter, and if we win, thats a big if, we will receive a parcel of money to upgrade the facilities of our academy. And, two hundred dollar gift cards to use at Sublime Equine."

"I'm in!" Tuff shouts, the others nod in agreement, Hiccup turned and pinned the piece of paper to the cork board behind him before turning back to his friends, peers, critics, even his students.

"I must warn you, there are five rounds of competition. Ten weeks of practice," Hiccup added, "gruelling practice. If you're in, there is no way out." And with that he hopped off his box and went to his office, well his father's office but now it was mainly his since he took over the a lot of the management. His father was an experienced horse man who ran clinics all over the world, his mother had died in a horse accident when he was younger and Hiccup's father Stoick had done everything he could to persuade Hiccup to do dressage. But once he saw one of his father's pupils jumping at the age of ten, he stopped his hacking around the farm and started learning from his father's lessons by watching. Stoick was awed, but annoyed his son had started to jump without any supervision. 

But whilst his father was working around the world, the clinics he ran could not cover the cost of the livery farm. Hiccup worked long hours, scrapping together the fees the the people keeping their horses. A long time ago he had stopped supplying feed for the liveries, letting them buy it themselves which saved him money. But Hiccup was stretched far to thin, most day he turned up to school wiht dark circles under his eye, gum to hide the fact he hadn't brushed his teeth, and a grass stain on his shirt from the morning horses. 

The teachers at school regularly called home to make sure he was being looked after, but they almost never got hold Stoick, just his best friend Gordon 'Gobber' Belch. 

Hiccup stared at the messy desk infant of him, his computer open on an assignment, mid term were soon and he had forced himself to ask the horse owners to find another way of feeding their horses in the evenings. He needed the precious time to study. 

There was a gentle knock on the door, "What you doing cowboy?"  Astrid asked.

"Just thinking Astrid," Hiccup assured her, running a hand through his greasy hair.

"You have to come out with us soon Hiccup," She told him, moving behind him to massage his neck.

"I can't Astrid, I have the feeds, and Night and, and, the stables, and, I just can't." He sighed closing his eyes. Astrid finger loosened the nots in his back and neck as he closed his eyes briefly.

"We'll win Hiccup. No one can destroy Berk Riding Academy as long as your in charge. And with you riding Night in this competition, you are unstoppable," she whispered a breath of hope into his ear before leaving him to his work. 

No matter how hard he tried, Hiccup could not concentrate in waivers and fees. Eventually he left to groom Night who was munching on his hay next to Stormfly.  He patted the horses neck and glanced around the stable yard, this was his home. Sure it was a little busted and covered in dust, but it was home. The rival stables who competed against them were crazy and would stop and nothing, but Hiccup and his team? Oh even more so, they would battle the odds to protect their reputation. Because they might have fancy trainers and fancy horses, but they, they have their horses.